ITALY! Part 1: One Turkey of a Layover

We are off for a week in Italy! Check back in to the Wisdom of Spring for updates on my adventures in Tuscany!

Our journey here was a long one. We left Chicago at 5pm and finally got to the Villa at 10pm the next day. UGH! But I handled it remarkably well. Curiously, our route was not direct- since mommy and daddy used frequent flier miles to get there, we were stuck with flying Turkish Airlines (an American Airlines affiliate) through Istanbul. Considering all the maintenance problems American is having this week, it was a good thing we're flying some obscure alternative carrier.

As it turns out, the nice people at Turkish Airlines make delightful hosts! They were so nice to me, always smiling, laughing, cooing, and making a fuss. I loved it! And they brought me extra bread and blankets and anything we needed. They even provided a small bassinet for me to sleep in during the trip. It totally rocked. Daddy really liked the trip: the airline had individual movie screens that played movies, TV, music, and even a camera image from the nose of the plane! It had a interactive map that allowed us to follow our journey and know what we were flying over at all times. Mommy enjoyed the seats- they reclined fully so she could sleep almost flat. When we emerged in Istanbul, we were in a pretty good mood.

We had a 3 hour layover in Istanbul, and the nice folks from Turkish airlines let us use their executive lounge. They had a espresso machine, sandwiches, OJ, adult drinks. They had nice bathrooms, a changing room decorated like a nursery, and a mini-Turkish bath for showers. They even had a children's room with toys and room for me to crawl around and wreck havoc. It was great! I was bummed we had to get back on the plane.

But we did, and we made it to Rome to find our rental car waiting. And, four hours later, pulled into the villa exhausted, dirty, and smelly. But we found Grandad and Bobby waiting for us, so we forgot all about out long journey and played with the family before collapsing in bed. We didn't wake up until noon the next day, which was just fine with mommy and daddy.